Falling Is Not A Problem
by monkkeyslut
Summary: "It's hard growing up, but being a superhero? That's even worse." Next Generation fic. Slightly Reboot-fic, but not until later.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Falling Is Not A Problem

**Rating/Warnings: **Rated T, but may eventually be M.

**Word Count: **700

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you see here, except maybe the idea.

**Author's Notes: **I had originally written a different fic about this, but after reading it and seeing it's absolute awfulness, I decided to try again. Thanks to Dicey for helping me get my shit together, and Annica for looking this over.

I hope everyone enjoys!

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><p><strong>Falling Is Not A Problem<strong>

_Prologue_

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><p>She's been running for who knows how long. Her feet, legs, her <em>body<em>-it all aches. Everything is on fire, her entire being is exhausted, but she doesn't quit when stuff looks hard, so she moves on, tunnel to tunnel, and wishes she could get out of this maze.

Her own blood marks the walls, and she makes sure she never passes the same wall. She doesn't want to be going in circles, but it looks more and more probable with each passing hour (minute? day?). This is becoming far more difficult than she first imagined.

Footsteps echo through the tunnel, and Helena's body tenses, prepares for a battle she isn't physically ready to fight. "Who's there?" She calls into the darkness, the flame from her small lighter barely giving off light anymore. "_Come out."_

Stepping forward, into the glow, is a boy.

Instantly, Helena is on guard. She tenses once more, scuttling back so she's nearly pressed against the wall. She sneers, lips turning up as the boy walks closer. And he's not a _boy_ really. He's all man, from what she can tell. He's got long arms, but a thick build, and the hair that hangs across his forehead is a thick layer of black.

"Don't be afraid." The man grins at her, and for a moment he looks like someone she might know back home, but the feeling is gone as quickly as it came. "My name is Robert."

She doesn't offer her name or anything else besides a snarl and a kick. Robert catches her foot easily, pulling her off balance. Helena's arms flail wildly for a moment, and then he is tugging her leg. She falls to the ground, scraping her palms on the jagged rocks.

"What do you want? Send me _home."_

He tilts his head, smirk crawling up his perfectly sculptured lips. "Home? And where is that?"

"I have a feeling you know," she answers irritably, but she can't move, and his iron grip on her ankle is beginning to hurt.

He squats down, lowering her leg, but still grips it tight in his grasp. "You're being silly-"

The grip on her ankle loosening, Helena kicks, hitting his right in his jewels. She darts to her feet, not even looking to see how he reacted, and darts down the tunnel she'd previously come from. She slips and runs into walls frequently, but she's getting away from him and that's good enough. The crossbow attached to her hip makes loud noises as she runs, but she is too far away from Robert to worry.

At least, she thought so.

She hits something solid, but it isn't the rock walls. It's a warm, _human_ body. Helena attempts to move away, but he pulls her close, hands closing around her arms and keeping her close. She can't wedge a knee up to kick him again. He's breathing heavily, hot against her jaw, and despite the feeling of dread flooding her throat, she shivers.

"I just wanted to talk. Let me _talk."_ His voice is low and dangerous sounding, a lot like Dick's when he gets mad. But this is sexy-this is nothing like her older brother's voice.

"Where are you from? Who _are you?"_ He asks, and they're moving backward, her Nikes kicking up stones as she stumbles with him, being half dragged. Her back presses against the wall painfully, and she winces.

"Listen, sweetheart," he leans close, and she can see the faint outline of his eyes in the darkness. "I'm the only person who knows the way out, and we can _help each other."_

Her fingers walk their way down to her waist, picking at her crossbow. If she can just get it out without him noticing, she may be able to get free.

"Keep talking," she encourages, leaning against him and attempting to even her breathing. "You've got a nice voice."

"I know how you got here. I know how to get you home."

Her hand freezes against her crossbow, and her breath hitches.

"I thought so," Robert murmurs, touching her face with his hand. "Now lets go back to my place, and we'll talk."

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**Title: **Falling Is Not A Problem

**Rating/Warnings: **Rated T, possibly M later on.

**Word Count: **3,423

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Teen Titans or any of the characters you see.

**Author's Notes:**Alright, here's the first chapter. It's not as long as I wanted but meh. I hope it's okay. Please review!

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><p><strong>Falling Is Not a Problem<strong>

_Chapter One_

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><p>Irey West was not a happy camper.<p>

Partially because Jai has switched her classes at the last minute and she couldn't get back into gym, but also because the clock seems to be ticking backward, and if her hair is pulled any more, she will surely be bald.

"A little gentler, maybe?" She glares through the mirror at Cassia Freeman, who merely smirks and continues rolling the barrel of the curling iron up her hair.

"We have to get this done, West. Class will be over soon."

"Yeah, in fifteen minutes," she growls, slouching in the chair. She hates Cosmetology class. She really, really does.

Her cell phone which is resting on the station in front of her vibrates, the screen lighting up and the name _MILAGRO REYES_ shows up. Irey scrambles to catch the phone before it vibrates off the unit, only to have her neck snapped back as Cassia rolls another piece of hair. "Iris West re_lax."_

Irey holds in an insult and squeezes her fists together. "Just let me get my phone." Said phone tilts precariously on the edge of the unit, the words _one missed call_ dancing across the screen. Milagro will be pissed.

"I'll burn your hair off," Cassia mutters, leaning down to whisper it in Irey's ear. "So sit still."

To be honest, Irey is slightly terrified of Cassia. She's very high up on the food chain of High School, where Irey is a bottom feeder. The only reason Cassia puts up with Irey is because she thinks she'll get a chance with Jai, which is unlikely, since Jai spends more time talking to people on the Internet and playing video games then looking for hot girls.

"Whatever," Irey mutters, glaring at herself in the mirror. At least her hair looks good.

* * *

><p>When she gets out of class, Irey rushes to her locker, phone already dialing the familiar number. She often wonders what her dad says when he reads her phone bill. Probably nothing she hasn't heard before.<p>

The answering voice, Milagro's husky voice, snaps into the phone, making Irey flinch, "Can't answer texts in class?"

"Not when I have a white-hot curling iron inches from my eye, no," she answers, squeezing past people in the hallway, holding her breath as she passes Liam Donovan, who smells almost as bad as Gorilla Grodd. "Besides, if it were _that_ important, you'd be calling my .comm, not my phone."

Milagro sighs heavily on the other line, and Irey can practically feel her glower. "Maybe I wanted to talk to my girlfriend."

"Err-yeah. Who wouldn't want to talk to a hot piece of ass like me?" She feels her heart pick up speed when Milagro says that-_girlfriend._ It's strange, exhilarating, and terrifying. Her locker comes into view, Jai's dark head of hair next to it, and rifling through his own locker.

Irey slides up next to him, fingers twisting the lock around, _19, 37, and 11._ It pops open, and Irey grins. "Anyway, what did you want?"

"Tell Mila I say hi," Jai mutters next to her, and Irey relays the message.

"Ugh, Jai is not on my good list this week."

"Why?" Irey looks through her lockers, scanning each sheet of paper and trying to figure out where her _stupid_ math assignment went.

"Eh-you'll find out later, I'm sure. Anyway, what I _wanted_ was to ask if you wanted to help me with my science because I'm failing and my guidance counselor says I can't graduate unless I pass this."

"How'd you pass before?" Irey asks, finding her math worksheets and stuffing them into her bag. Jai nudges her, nodding toward the school's entrance, signaling his departure, and Irey nods.

"I cheated off the smart kids-now anyway. Can I come over or not?"

_Are mom and dad working tonight? _She tries to picture the calendar that's hanging on their fridge at home, showing which days her parents work, and she's like _ninety_ percent sure that they're both working until eight. "Yeah, sure. Uh-you know where it is right?"

"Well actually no, but I'm outside your school so maybe you can show me?"

Her stomach feels strange. Like when Uncle Dick let her walk across the tightrope, or when Milagro kissed her for the first time. Butterflies, she thinks dully, staring wide-eyed into her locker. She hopes the blush on her cheeks is gone by the time she gets outside. "I'll see you in five seconds."

"Gotcha."

Irey slams her locker shut, clicking the lock back into place, and darts around the students, all talking and laughing. Irey wonders what they would think if they knew she was a super hero. They'd probably have a lot to say about that. Or maybe that Irey West was going outside to meet Milagro Reyes, the girl she's been kissing for the past two months. That would definitely get a rise out of them.

The doors open and sunlight filters through, blinding her momentarily. She never really gets used to the cool, windy weather of San Francisco. She likes this warm, bright weather much more.

She scans the parking lot and front yard of the school, but she can't see Milagro's dark head. Instead of standing at the top of the steps like an idiot, Irey starts her way down the steps, backpack bouncing against her back. She pulls out her phone quickly, texting Milagro's phone. _Where are you?_

_Parking lot._

Irey looks up, brows furrowed. She'd looked there earlier and hadn't been able to find the girl.

"Irey!"

The redhead turns, eyes landing on a tall, tanned Milagro. She has her hair pulled up in a ponytail, and the denim shorts she wears are frayed at the ends.

Irey starts over to her, suddenly self-conscious of her own hair. Milagro's is soft and thick and curly, and Irey's is dry from running and curly. She's never really _curled_ it before. What if Milagro doesn't like it?

It doesn't matter, because as soon as Irey gets over there, Milagro is wrapping her strong arms around Irey's neck, pulling her close. "I missed you."

"Missed you too," Irey replies, heat flooding her face again. She feels like she can feel everyone's gaze on them, but when she pulls away, nobody has given them a second glance. She gives the other girl a smile. "Ready to do some science?"

The way Milagro is looking at her makes her stomach _hurt_ and not in the good way. These aren't butterflies. "Yeah, I guess."

The walk home is relatively short-Wally had wanted to be close to the school just in case something happened with the twins, not that it ever did, but her dad was a weirdo in that way-so when they get home, Irey hops up the steps, opens the door, and immediately goes to the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"No," Milagro rounds the corner, socked feet shuffling against the floor. "Hey did you hear about Izzy?"

The sound of Isabelle's name makes Irey's blood boil. The girl had always annoyed Irey, but lately it's been everything about her that made Irey mad. Whether it was bitching about her parents, both villains, or talking about the severe lack of "cute guys who aren't murdering freaks on the Team" (in reference to Damian, who is not a freak). "No, I didn't."

""Well apparently, _your _brother-"

"_What?"_

Irey turns, knife slick with peanut butter pointing at Milagro. The other girl frowns at her, but continues her story, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting her feet up on one of the chairs. "Anyway, he and Izzy were patrolling the other night in Star-don't ask why," Milagro glares at Irey, whose mouth is open, and goes on, "and apparently, _apparently_ he let her get caught by her dad, who had been tracking them all night. And you know how freaked out she is by them."

"I'm sure he didn't let her get caught. She probably screwed up-"

"Irey," Milagro says her name, and although her back is turned, Irey can see the frown. "Just because you don't like her doesn't mean she's gonna go off and mess up."

"I know." Irey places the pickles on her sandwich, licking her fingers. "Whatever, continue."

"So anyway, he tried to find them, but couldn't and blah blah called the League and blah blah Izzy was freaked out and mad and wanted to punch him in the face."

"That's why he's on the bad list?"

"No, he's on the bad list because he broke my goddamn radio."

Irey nods, turning to look at Milagro. The older girl is staring, eyes dark and mouth turned up in a smirk. "Why don't you finish that and we'll go up to your room and start my homework."

The sandwich is gone in moments.

* * *

><p>"I have to tell you something."<p>

Irey looks up, eyebrows furrowed as she looks over Milagro's work.

"What?"

"I'm not failing science."

Irey notices then that Milagro is not wearing a shirt and that her shorts are riding up and that her _legs_ are too long to be normal and too shiny to be natural and Irey is not in a good position. Her dad could come home and check up on Irey and Jai at any time, or someone could call and _Jai_ won't answer it-

She doesn't have a chance to do anything or worry anymore, because Milagro grabs her hand, tugging her up onto the bed.

* * *

><p>She's strapping her bra back on when Irey hears the car pull up into the driveway. She scrambles to re-dress herself, ignoring Milagro's scoff, and speeds to the front door, throwing it open and-<p>

And it's not her dad; it's a tall blonde boy with green streaks and bright green eyes.

"Well hi there," his voice has a slight accent, and a grin lights up his face. He's thin, but his arms are muscular. He's kind of cute.

"Hi," Irey mumbles, trying to figure out where she knows him from. He looks familiar, but she can't place him...

"Who's this?" He asks, nodding behind her, and Irey turns to see Milagro walking down the stairs, pulling her loose hair back (the image of Irey tugging the ponytail out is fresh in her mind and she fights the blush threatening to creep up her throat).

"Milagro," Irey answers uncertainly, feeling the older girl come up behind her, heat radiating against her back. "Uh...what are you doing here? And who are you...?"

"Cr-"

"-crazy," a new voice supplies, and Irey turns again, noticing her brother darting down the stairs, mismatched socks almost a blur as he races down the stairs, nearly tripping on the carpet at the bottom. "And he was just leaving."

Jai shoves Irey out of the way and the boy-Crazy?-waves cheerily, nodding his head. "Nice to meet you!"

Irey is astounded by how quickly Jai manages to get his shoes on, but he's out the door and yelling, "Be back later," in less than three minutes.

"I've never seen him move so fast..." Irey shuts the door, turning to face Milagro, who has a hand poised on her hip and a smirk dancing across her lips.

"Remember when Damian threatened to throw his Xbox out the window?"

"Right," Irey laughs, staring at her friend. "So...we've still got a while..."

Milagro grins, showing dimples Irey loves, and turns back to Irey's bedroom.

* * *

><p>"That was really, really stupid," Jai snaps, shoving his hands into his pockets. He feels lint and change in there, and wonders how much a slushy cost. "Irey could have recognized you."<p>

"But she didn't." Jai still can't recognize his accent, and to be quite honest, he doesn't think Cricket remembers where he's from anymore. "She's real cute though," he chirps, tongue clicking, and Jai hardly notices it anymore. "She got a boyfriend?"

"No..." Jai doesn't really know what Irey and Milagro are doing, and he doesn't care to ask. "What're you here for? I can't spend all night with you, y'know."

Cricket sighs, raising his arms up over his head and cracking his shoulders. They pop loudly, and Jai has to hold back a wince. He's always been squeamish around stuff like that. "You helped me that one time," Cricket reminds him, and Jai nods, because he remembers and he knows exactly what he did. "So I figure I oughta return the favor." He chirps again, eyes lingering as a short blonde girl walks past, legs a thousand miles long.

"Oh yeah," Jai says, tucking his hands into his pockets. They touch something, someone's number, he thinks, but can't remember her name. "So get on with it."

The tall boy nods, blonde hair dancing across his pale forehead. "Let's go somewhere to ear. I'm, _starving_. Haven't eaten in..." he trails off, eyes drifting upward, brows dipping. "Nevermind. Any place you had in mind?"

_This guy's strange,_ Jai thinks numbly, nodding and leading the assassin towards McDonald's. It's all he can really afford right now, and well...Cricket probably can't remember his last meal, so he won't have any problems eating this stuff.

"How important is the information you have? I'll have to think of something good if I plan on telling to Team-"

"I was thinking we could go on this one alone-or at least just you. I don't want those Titan fools leading the League there."

Jai looks over at him, eyes wide. "Go by myself? With _you?_ How do I know you won't just-?"

"Can I take your order?" A short redhead stands behind the counter, scowl on her face. Her name tag says JANICE, and Jai thinks he recognizes her from school.

"Hmm...West, you go first."

Jai exhales, glancing up at the menu, ordering a double bacon cheese burger and large fries. Cricket orders directly after him, asking for a McFlurry (_"Oh that sounds yummy...") _and chicken nuggets (_"Had those before...I think...")._ Once their order arrives, Jai leads them to a table in the back corner, away from any windows or noisy customers. Cricket tears a packet of ketchup open and squirts it into his nugget box, poking his finger in it experimentally. He sniffs at it and licks it, then dips a nugget in it. Jai shakes his head, biting into his own burger. "Alright, tell me what you know."

Cricket nods, swallowing, "I was looking through some note books-I used to write in notebooks so I didn't forget things; most of my older ones are gone, with things like my name, my mother and father...that kind of things in them. But I had some from when I was twelve and I wrote something about being trained with a girl. She was supposed to be dead but they'd done something and brought her back-blah, blah.

"I tried to find more information on her, but there was nothing else in the notebooks, which meant that I'd left before I could learn more. So I asked some people if they knew anything about it, and luckily, one of my elders remembered her. She said that the girl didn't remember anything that had happened to her before she died, but her body had needed to recover from all the trauma. Only a few people knew about her, and then she was sent to train with Shadows. She's a pretty advanced assassin, and I know for a fact that she'll be in Beijing in the next day or so."

"That's interesting," Jai says, swallowing his burger down with his coke, "But what does it have to do with _anything-"_

"She was one of you," Cricket says, eyes flashing, snatching Jai's drink from him, despite his perfectly fine McFlurry. "I don't know who, but she's a hero. Or she was."

* * *

><p>The overnight bag Jai packed is heavy and Cricket glares at him for packing so much, but he also nods, telling Jai he'll pull into the drive way with a car in half an hour, so <em>get a good meal<em> and _make something up._

The walk downstairs is not as easy. Irey rushes past him, nearly tripping him and Dad is right behind him, patting Jai on the back as the two races to get to the table faster.

Jai can smell pork chops almost as soon as he gets the main floor. Pork chops and noodles. His favorite.

Mom is dishing helpings onto plates when Jai sits down. Irey and Dad are arguing about something, probably who got to the table fastest, and Mom just smiles, giving Jai more than the others. "Growing boys and all that junk," she murmurs, winking.

"Why'd Jai get more?" Irey leans over the table, fork trying to stab into his meat. Jai battles her fork, the sound of stainless steel bouncing off each other.

"That's enough you two," Wally snaps, stealing Jai's extra meat and popping it into his mouth. "Look, no more fights."

"Right," Jai sinks into his seat, stabbing a noodle and eating it. Linda gives both Irey and Wally a dirty look, but Jai can't be bothered, because he's about to lie to them so he can go to Beijing.

"So I'm sleeping at my friend's house tonight. We're studying for an English test tomorrow."

Wally raises an eyebrow, mouth turning down in a frown. "Irey, you studied, right? I know your mark in that-"

Linda looks at Jai, and she nods, giving him a small smile. "Sounds good, buddy."

He doesn't feel all that bad anymore.

* * *

><p>He's waiting in the front hall for Cricket when Irey leans against the wall. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and she's scowling. "You're not actually sleeping out, are you?"<p>

It's slightly annoying that she knows things like that. They've never really had..._twin telepathy_ or any shit like that, but she always seems to know when he's lying, and vice versa. "Actually, I am. I have friends who can tolerate me, unlike you, Irey." It's a low blow, but hopefully it gets her away from him.

"That's nice," Her tone is laced with anger, and Jai turns.

"Irey..."

"Where are you _going_, Jai?"

"It's nothing," he motions for her to be quiet and come closer. She does. "Just a little covert thing. I'll be back by tomorrow night."

"So why'd you lie?"

"Because I know mom and dad don't like it when I go shit like this." The last time he'd gone out on his own, he'd suffered from a broken rib and arm. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still scared his parents. It had scared him, too, but the past few months he's been training with Damian, which doesn't seem like a good time. But the Brat Wonder is actually a pretty good teacher.

"If you... If you need help, make sure you call us." Irey gives him her _'I'll punch you in the throat'_ look, and he nods.

"Gotcha."

* * *

><p>He should probably be listening to Grayson right now, because technically he's being reprimanded on the mistakes he made tonight, but Stephanie just finished sparring with Drake and...<p>

Grayson laughs under his breath, and Damian turns to glare. _"What?"_

"Nothing," he shakes his head, leaning back in his chair. "I remember my first Batg-"

"Finish that sentence," Damian bares his teeth, glare sharpening. "I dare you, Grayson."

Before Grayson has a chance to respond, Damian's communicator beeps, a loud, annoying tune, and he reaches around Grayson for his belt, tugging it out. "What is it, West?"

Damian glowers at Grayson, who gets the message and stands, stretching his arms over his head. "Be back in time for breakfast," he says, before walking toward the showers.

His communicator beeps once more, and Damian asks, "Talk, West. I don't have all night."

"_Jai went somewhere,"_ it sounds like she's whispering, which means her parents don't know she's talking to him. This can't be good. "_I dunno where, but I have the coordinates."_

"And how did you manage those?" Damian leans against the computer, happy his mask is still in place. It gives him a chance to watch Stephanie without her seeing. It also helps him feel less creepy.

"_I stole them. And I'm going after Jai. So I could use some help. Can you call the others and I'll meet you guys at the Tower?"_

And he'd really planned on staying in tonight.


End file.
